


city of stars, are you shining just for me?

by MagicaLyss



Series: A Permanent Hug From You {Parkner Febufluff} [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Boys In Love, Dorks in Love, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Hurt Peter Parker, M/M, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Has Nightmares, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Precious Peter Parker, Supportive May Parker (Spider-Man)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:08:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23016016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicaLyss/pseuds/MagicaLyss
Summary: Febufluff Days 15, 16, 17, & 18 – Box of Candy & Teddy Bear & Missing You & Friday Night RideIt’s been three monthsThree of the longest months of Harley’s life.Peter’s been away on a mission for literally twelve weeks with a few Avengers in Russia of all places. Like halfway around the world from Harley’s who’s alone in the penthouse of the tower, alone and miserable.He would never admit to anybody that he’s a lovesick sap, but he is.He’s sappy and he’s a romantic and he just really loves Peter.But sue him. Peter’s been on this stupid mission for three fucking months and Harley just misses his boyfriend, is that so crazy?
Relationships: Harley Keener & May Parker (Spider-Man), Harley Keener & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Harley Keener & Pepper Potts, Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Series: A Permanent Hug From You {Parkner Febufluff} [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620397
Comments: 9
Kudos: 248





	city of stars, are you shining just for me?

It’s been three months.  
  


Three of the longest months of Harley’s life.  
  


Peter’s been away on a mission for literally twelve weeks with a few Avengers in _Russia_ of all places. Like halfway around the world from Harley’s who’s alone in the penthouse of the tower, alone and _miserable_.  
  


There’s no reason a mission should take this long, but Harley’s isn’t worried. He gets short texts from Peter every day or two, letting him know that he’s alright and that he’ll be home as soon as he can.  
  


But the bed stays cold at his side, and the gifts wrapped under his bed stay untouched because Peter missed Valentine’s Day. And Harley’s just downright miserable.  
  


He would never admit to anybody that he’s a lovesick sap, but he _is_.  
  


He’s sappy and he’s a romantic and he just really loves Peter.  
  


Sleeping doesn’t come as easy when Peter’s not in his arms, the world duller when the light of his life is away. It’s probably stupid and he’s just a tad bit overly dependent.  
  


But sue him. Peter’s been on this stupid mission for three fucking months and Harley just misses his boyfriend, is that so crazy?  
  


He curls up in their bed, deliberatey on Peter’s side, trying his best to ignore the way Peter’s pillow smells more like Harley than the hero.  
  


“Harley, c’mon,” Pepper says from his doorway. Morgan’s standing behind her, a book clutched to her chest. She’s nine now, getting older by the very day. “Peter’s fine, you know that.”  
  


No nonesense Pepper today. Sometimes he gets this Pepper, sometimes he gets soothing Pepper sitting at the edge of his bed and pushing his hair back and murmuring how she worries about Tony being out there too.  
  


“Miss him,” Harley says, words muffled by Peter’s pillow. He knows he probably sounds like a child, pouting and cheeks flushed and eyes watery.  
  


Morgan reaches a hand out towards him. “C’mon, we can watch Harry Potter and have juice pops?”  
  


“No juice pops before breakfact,” Pepper says out of instinct, but she still looks expectantly at Harley.  
  


Normally, watching Harry Potter was the easiest way to get Harley to cheer up, but now all it does is remind him more of his boyfriend, halfway across the world, probably hurt from some self-sacrificial play in the battlefield with Tony reprimanding him. Maybe missing Harley just as miss as vice versa.  
  


And like Peter knew, his phone lights up by his head.  
  


_Hi, love. Finishing up soon, I swear. Be home before you know it. Love you and miss you.  
  
_

Harley types out a half-assed response with just a few words, adding a couple hearts so it comes off as less passive aggressive, but he’s just tired of worrying day in and day out about his boyfriend.  
  


Peter’s a _superhero_ , and Harley gets that. He does.  
  


It doesn’t make it easier though. It doesn’t make it easier when he has to wait up until the early hours of morning for Peter to come stumbling through the window into their bedroom, pulling his mask off to reveal cuts and bruises. It doesn’t make it easier when he has to patch Peter up nearly every day, stitches or bandages or carrying him down to medical. It doesn’t make it easy, not when he knows the truth about heroes’ lifespans. About how Tony’s just an exception, most heroes don’t make it more than a few years.  
Something will knock them down for good.  
  


And Harley doesn’t think he could lose Peter. He doesn’t know what he’d do without him. Peter’s his everything.  
  


“Jus’ want Peter back,” Harley says, voice lifting into a childish whine. He tugs the blankets up to his chin, pouting at Pepper. “Been too long.”  
  


Three months is a long time. Especially for the two boys who have barely spent more than a few days apart over the past seven years of their relationships. They’ve been dating since they were fifteen, and just Tony’s genius interns, always bickering or teasing or subtly flirting through joking insults, and now they’re twenty-two, graduated MIT last summer together, and are now in the process of becomig Co-Owners of Stark Industries.  
  


“C’mon, Harley, you’re being silly,” Pepper says, walking over to rip the blankets from his shoulders. “Up and at ‘em, kid, no more pouting in bed. Come on, May’s on her way with breakfast from that place you like.”  
  


Harley goes to tell her that _Peter_ likes that place. That Harley never really liked breakfast at all before Peter came along. But he doesn’t bother, just drags his feet up under him and lets Pepper lead the way into the dining room.  
  


“Oh, honey,” May says as soon as she arrives, pushing his curls back to press a kiss to his forehead.  
  


“This is the longest we’ve ever been apart,” Harley explains quietly, pouting at the table. “The longest before this was when I went to Tennessee over Spring Break for three days and we still facetimed every day.”  
  


May lets out a laugh and pats Harley’s cheek before pushing the breakfast towards him. “Eat up, you look like you haven’t been eating well.”  
  


Harley pouts more, rolling his eyes, but accepts the offering anyways. “Is it bad that I miss him this much?”  
  


Pepper smiles sitting down next to May. “No, it’s not bad, it’s just love, Harley.”  
  


Letting his head fall into his hands, he huffs in annoyance. “Well, I hate it. Take it back. I don’t want this part.”  
  


Both women laugh at him, rolling their eyes.  
  


“Harley, you’re being silly,” Morgan says, patting him on the shoulder. “Peter will be back soon, it’s not the end of the world.”  
  


His phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls out, another text from Peter.  
  


_I know this is tough and I’m so sorry I’ve been gone for so long. I can barely sleep at night when you’re not there. This is pretty shitty, but I’ll be home soon I promise. I love you so much and I miss you like crazy. See you soon love I promise.  
  
_

It’s the longest message Harley’s gotten from Peter since he left, normally they just come in a few short words about how Peter loves him, misses him, and is okay.  
  


The day Peter left, Harley wasn’t that much of a mess. Sure, he hugged and kissed Peter goodbye, and he may or may not have cried as the plane was flying off, but he was fine. That was because originally, the mission wasn’t supposed to take longer than a few weeks. Now it’s been _twelve weeks_ and Harley wants to cry everytime he gets a text from Peter without being able to physically be with him.  
  


_Love you too darling. Stay safe. Miss you tons. Come home soon.  
  
_

And Harley can’t help but think of Peter sleeping in the plane or maybe in shitty motels or in weird places while trying to keep watch, missing Harley. He hadn’t really thought of how irritable Peter might be if Harley’s this much of a mess.  
  


“Harry Potter?” Harley finally says, offering Morgan a tired smile.  
  


“When Peter gets back, the two of you have _piles_ of paperwork to get through too, don’t forget,” Pepper says.  
  


May rolls her eyes. “When Peter gets back, you two can have a few days to get back on your feet, alright? We won’t bother you, but after that…”  
  


“Yeah, yeah, I know. Responsibilities and all that bullshit, I get it.”  
  


May pats his shoulder as she stands from her chair. Her expression softens when he looks up at her, probably noticing the nasty dark circles under his eyes that he’s realized has gotten a lot worse since Peter left.  
  


“He’s going to be already, honey, I promise. He’ll be home soon. I know it’s hard,” May murmurs. “Trust me, I had to watch him head off to college all on his own a few years back, and my god, did I ever miss him.”  
  


“He wasn’t alone,” Harley says. He remembers that day clearly. Him and Peter, hand in hand, saying goodbye to May and the Starks dropping them off in their shared dormroom.  
  


May smiles and presses a kiss to his forehead. “I know, he had you. And right now, he has Tony with him. And Nat and Steve and Sam. He’ll be just fine.”  
  


“I know, I just really miss him.”  
  


“I know you do, honey.”  
  
  
*  
  
  
Harley wakes up on the couch in the middle of the night, the credits of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire still playing on the flatscreen TV.  
  


Morgan’s curled up opposite him, a blanket pulled over both of them. She’s fast asleep, drooling a little bit against the throw pillow.  
  


Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Harley sits up slowly, glancing around the dark room, cast in a blue glare from the television.  
  


And then he hears what woke him up, a fairly loud thud followed by some cursing coming from the kitchen.  
  


“Fri?” Harley whispers, one hand grabbing onto Morgan’s ankle, hoping she stays asleep. His first thought is an intruder, but he’s not sure how an intruder would get all the way up to the penthouse without triggering security.  
  


“Yes, Mister Keener?” FRIDAY responds, matching his volume, but it seems much too loud in the otherwise quiet room.  
  


He slowly slides to his feet, keeping his footsteps light as his fingers hover over the emergency button on his watch. Every Stark family member has one of the watches, even May just in case they need help.  
  


He carefully tiptoes to the edge of the kitchen, peering into the dim room.  
  


A figure is pulling open the pantries, left and right, searching for _something_. They open the fridge with an echoing click, cursing quietly when something slips from their grasp and hits the ground.  
  


But the fridge lights up and illuminates the figure.  
  


Peter Parker stands in the kitchen, Spider-Man suit half off, hanging around his waist. He looks worse for wear, cut and bruised and bloody, but his face just shows mild annoyance. Not pain, no tears.  
  


“Peter?” Harley says, making his presence known. “What in the world are you-”  
  


“Needa find stitches,” Peter says, voice almost slurring and eyes glazed.  
  


Harley freezes, staring at Peter for a long moment. “You’re trying to find stitches… in the fridge?”  
  


Peter pouts into the fridge as though the first aid kit will just fall out.  
  


Pushing down the need to swaddle Peter in a million blankets and never let his boyfriend go, Harley crosses the room and gently takes Peter’s wrist.  
  


“C’mon, darling,” he says, rolling his eyes. “You’re not going to find stitches in the fridge.”  
  


Peter stares at him for a solid minute, unmoving, before he finally presses a quick kiss to Harley’s cheek. “Thank you.”  
  


Shaking his head, Harley tugs on Peter’s wrist until the younger boy follows him into the bathroom. Peter sits down on the edge of the tub, pointing at the wound that needs stitches on his chest.  
  


It’s not a good time to admit how shitty he’s been feeling, how happy and relieved he is that Peter’s home, not when Harley’s stitching Peter’s chest back up. Bad timing.  
  


So it’s quiet as Harley stitches and disinfects and bandages Peter’s wounds, except for the little hisses and mumbled complaints Peter makes.  
  


Eventually, though, Harley’s carefully tugging one of his hoodies onto Peter who looks up at him with a tired smile.  
  


“Thank you,” Peter murmurs, leaning into Harley’s chest. “Know I wanna say a lot and kiss you until the world ends, but ‘m too tired right now.”  
  


Harley huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, course, darling. Let’s get you to bed.”  
  


He leads Peter up to his feet and down the hallway to their bedroom, heart leaping because he’s finally, _finally_ , not sleeping alone. It’s been three very long months.  
  


Peter immediately falls into the bed, kicking his suit the rest of the way off. “C’mere. Wanna cuddle forever.”  
  


“Forever?” Harley says, chucking off his jeans and sliding into bed beside his boyfriend.  
  


“Mm,” Peter says, curling up against Harley. “Forever and ever. Can’t stop me.”  
  


Harley lets out a laugh, peppering Peter’s face in kisses as he pulls the blankets over them. “Don’t want you anywhere else, darling.”  
  


“Missed you,” Peter yawns, tucking his face against Harley’s shoulder, eyes slipping shut. “Couldn’t sleep without you.”  
  


“Me neither, doll.”  
  


“Love you.” Peter leans up to press a kiss to the corner of Harley’s mouth before tucking himself firmly against Harley’s side, a dopey smile on his face as Harley wraps his arms around him.  
  


“I love you too, Peter,” Harley murmurs, kissing the top of his boyfriend’s head. This isn’t exactly the night that he planned when Peter got back from the mission, he was thinking something more along the lines of the Valentine’s gifts finally being opened, a nice meal, and maybe a night of snuggling and watching movies.  
  


But this is just as perfect. This is still the only part that matters, Peter tucked into his arms, head cushioned against his chest, hands curling into his t-shirt, quiet I Love You’s passing between them. Harley doesn’t care what they do, as long as Peter is here at his side.  
  


  
*  
  
  
Harley jerks awake for the second time only a few hours later. It’s still late and dark, barely able to see through the darkness.  
  


A choked sob escapes Peter and Harley turns quickly, not surprised to find Peter still asleep, in the throes of a nightmare.  
  


“Hey, darling, you gotta wake up for me now, okay?” Harley murmurs, gently pushing Peter’s curls back and rubbing a thumb over his cheekbone. “C’mon, honey, open those eyes for me.”  
  


It doesn’t take much longer than that for Peter to jolt awake, taking a few seconds to get his bearings before crumbling into Harley’s awaiting arms.  
  


“Sorry,” Peter pants, trying his best to get control of his tears. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”  
  


“That’s alright, lovely, that’s what I’m here for, yeah?” Harley soothes, peppering kisses over Peter’s face. “You wanna go for a ride?”  
  


It’s late on a Friday, but if anything helps their nightmares, it’s getting out of the confines of the penthouse and getting some fresh air. A drive through the city sounds like a good plan, Harley knows the warm air and quiet music will do Peter some good.  
  


Peter looks up at him in confusion for a moment before shrugging and accepting the hand offered out to him.  
  


“For you, my love,” Harley says, fishing the presents out from under his bed. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”  
  


“It’s April,” Peter says, but his eyes are shining and he looks up to Harley with a dopey smile through his tears. He hugs the presents to his chest unopened and follows Harley into the elevator.  
  


Harley picks out Peter’s favourite car from the garage. An Audi R8 Spyder and opens passenger for Peter before sliding into Driver’s.  
  


“C’mon, open them up,” Harley nudges, driving out of the garage and towards the open roads. There’s not a whole lot of traffic at three in the morning.  
  


They’re basic Valentine’s Day presents, a box of candies and chocolates, and a teddy bear dressed up like Spider-Man.  
  


But Peter lights up like it’s the best gift he’s ever received. “Thank you so much, Harley. Thank you. Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you.”  
  


“Love you too, baby. But open up the glove compartment. There’s another gift in there.”  
  


Peter hesitates, eyes lingering on Harley as they speed through backroads, top of the car down and soft rock whispering through the speakers.  
  


Carefully, Peter unwraps the box in the glove compartment.  
  


Two golden rings on chains, engraved with H & P like they’re still lovesick teenagers. They did that on their nearly six years ago, carve their initials into a tree behind the tower. To this day, it’s still there. (Whether or not Harley goes out and recarves it every once in a while is unknown to Peter.)  
  


“Figured rings weren’t really our thing,” Harley murmurs, glancing over at Peter. “Chains seemed like the better route to go.”  
  


“Are you proposing?” Peter asks, voice quiet. He’s grinning down at the rings in his hands, tears pooling in his eyes. “I swear to god, Keener-”  
  


“Hopefully that can be Parker soon, hm?” Harley says, trying to push down the smile that threatens to split his face in half. “So what do you say, darling?”  
  


Peter lets out a watery laugh and leans across the middle of the car to slip the chain around Harley’s neck. The gold ring sits in the center of his chest and it makes him feel warm and fuzzy. Peter puts his own chain on, grinning down at it, before he leans over again to press a kiss to Harley’s cheek.  
  


“Oh my god, yes. I can’t believe it. How long have you had this planned?”  
  


Harley flushes. “Uh, I may or may not have had the box in their for a little over eight months. I wanted it be, you know, the right timing, but I figured any time is right as long as we’re together, yeah?”  
  


“Holy shit, Harley. I love you,” Peter breathes, pressing another kiss to the corner of Harley’s mouth. “I missed you so much and I’m not going on anymore missions for a long time, alright? I don’t care how world-ending they say it is, I’m staying here with you.”  
  


Laughing, Harley reaches over to take Peter’s hand. “Sure, darling, whatever you say.”  
  


They both know it’s not true. Peter will jump on whatever mission comes next, that he’ll be gone more often than Harley wishes. But that’s okay because Peter will always come home and Harley will always be there waiting.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr](https://lyssismagical.tumblr.com/)


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